Wiebes wins first Scheldeprijs for women
Wiebes sprinted to victory in the first-ever Scheldeprijs for women. She won ahead of Norsgaard and Balsamo. The harsh weather conditions made this first edition extra memorable.
In their very first edition, the women immediately got to deal with tough weather conditions. The organisation decided to cancel the start presentations out of respect for the riders. The race itself could go ahead unhindered. At 11.10 am the women started in Schoten for their first Scheldeprijs.
On the loop towards Hoogstraten, the wind contributed to an exciting race. It broke up the peloton, but the first group could not really pull away. A regrouping of riders followed in the run-up to the local rounds in and around Schoten. A crash caused the peloton to break up again shortly afterwards, but in the following kilometres the second group was able to catch up with the front one.
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In the first of three local laps, Daniek Hengeveld (GT Krush Tunap Pro Cycling) saw an opportunity. The Dutch rider chose to go solo with 30 km to go. Her lead increased to 1'20". In the background, the peloton had the race under control. They slowly brought the lead back. With 18km to go and entering the final lap, Hengeveld's lead was barely 20 seconds.
With less than 10 km to go Hengeveld's story was over. With 7km to go Letizia Borghesi (Aromitalia Basso Bikes Vaiano) tried to go solo, but the peloton did not let her go in the first edition of the unofficial women's sprint championship.
In that sprint, it was Dutch rider Wiebes (Team DSM) who had the best legs. She beat the Danish Norsgaard (Movistar Team Women) and the Italian Balsamo (Valcar - Travel & Service) on the Chuchilllaan in Schoten.
